Harvester



NT R.

G. B. HILL HARVESTER Original Filed March 7, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 -Wmwwwm rWMI I HMI MHHL T 1/! n n n u n a a Om "m M r .v .vn I n la r N v W ON Om w Q? /m me. m @E A/ Nev. 25, 1947.

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 25, 1947 HARVESTER George B. Hill, Ottumwa, Iowa, assignor to Dain Manufacturing Co. of Iowa, Ottumwa, Iowa, a

corporation of Iowa Application February 3, 1944, Serial No. 520,987, which is a division of application Serial No. 382,219, March 7, 1941. Divided and this application June 2, 1945, Serial No. 597,211

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates generally to harvesters and more particularly to machines adapted to harvest, gather, and reduce to silage, green forage crops such as grass, alfalfa and the like, and has for its principal object the provision of a novel and improved harvester and chopper which is efiicient in operation, simple in construction, but strong and durable. This application is a division of a co-pending application, Serial No. 520,987, filed February 3, 1944, which in turn, is a division ofan application, Serial No. 382,219, filed March 7, 1941, now Patent No. 2,347,907, issued May 2, 1944.

Another object of my invention relates to the provision of means for elevating and conveying the chopped crops from the harvesting machine to a wagon or truck driven alongside the machine, and which is efficient in operation when conveying green grass or alfalfa, without any tendency to clog during operation.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following description, in which reference is had to the drawings appended hereto, in which Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the havester with a part of the housing broken away to show the interior arrangement when the machine is used as a windrow harvester.

Figure 2 is a rear elevational view of the harvesting machine drawn to a reduced scale, showing the arrangement of parts as used when the machine is operated as a green crop harvester and chopper.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevational view taken along a line 3-3 in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a partial rear elevational view, drawn to an enlarged scale, showing the discharge opening in the rear of the housing when the machine is used as a windrow harvester.

Referring now to the drawings, the harvesting machine includes a transversely disposed supporting axle beam It, at opposite ends of which are disposed a pair of supporting wheels ll, respectively, journaled on a pair of stub axles l2 fixed to the main axle beam ID. A draft frame, indicated generally by reference numeral l3, extends forwardly from the main axle beam II], to which it is rigidly connected, and is provided at its forward end with a tractor hitch member [6 adapted for connection to the drawbar of the tractor or other suitable draft mechanism. The draft frame l3 and'axle beam H! are rigidly connected together to form a unitary frame struc ture.

Supported at the rear of the draft frame is an ensilage chopper 20 having a rotary knife 2l of the flywheel type, comprising radially extending arms 22 on which are carried the chopping blades 23. The arms 22 are mounted on a shaft 36 which is journaled in suitable bearings disposed ahead of the flywheel 21. A detailed description of the flywheel chopper is not considered necessary here, for a chopper of this type is described and claimed in my Patent No. 2,313,872, granted March 16, 1943. The blades 23 cooperate with a stationary cutter bar 24 to chop the harvested crops which are fed thereto by means of suitable feeding mechanism including an upper fluted roll 26 and a smooth feed roll 21, disposed immediately ahead of the cutter bar 24 and enclosed in a feeder housing 25, which is mounted in fixed relation on the supporting frame.

The rotary chopper 2i is contained within a generally circular, vertically disposed housing 29, which is mounted behind the main axle beam I9 and communicates with the feeder housing 25 to admit the harvester crops to the cutter bar 24. The housing 29 is bolted to the rear edges of the feeder housing walls, and is further supported by a super-structure comprising a pair of transversely disposed frame members 3i, fixed to th front and rear sides of the housing 29, respectively, and attached to a pair of vertical supporting members 32 which are carried at their lower ends on a forwardly extending frame member 33 which is fixed to the axle beam ID. The transverse frame members 3| are interconnected by a pair of longitudinally extending bracing beams 34, 35 on opposite ends of the superstructure, respectively.

The arms 22 ofv the rotor also serve as fan blades for propelling the chopped crops through a tangential discharge duct 4|, which extends upwardly and laterally from the stubbleward side of the chopper housing 29. The discharge portion M of the housing 29 terminates at the transversely disposed frame members 3| and is provided with a connecting flange 42, to which is connected a discharge conduit 43 extending up" wardly and outwardly in a parabolic curve which follows substantially the natural trajectory of the crops as they are discharged from the housing 29 through the discharge passage 4!.

The parabolic conduit 43 comprises a pair of sections 44, 45 coupled together by means of a hinge 46 which permits the upper section 45 to be folded back overthe top of the rotary chopper housing 29 for transport purposes. The outer end of the conduit 43 is provided with a pivoted hood 41 for controlling the direction of discharge of the crops from the end of the conduit 43. The conduit 43 is closed on three sides, having a top wall 5| and a pair of side walls 52, but no bottom wall, (Fig. 3). The bottom of the conduit 43 is open all the way from the connecting flange 42 to the outer end of the conduit. Thus the discharge conduit 43 serves more as a means for guiding the discharged crop material in its natural trajectory from the rotary chopper 20 to the wagon or truck which is drawn alongside of the harvester, rather than as a pneumatic conveyor pipe. In case the rotary chopper should slow down, the crop material discharged through the conduit would merely follow a lower trajectory curve rather than clogging the conduit and requiring the latter to be dismantled and cleaned out before any further harvesting could be done. I have found that when any shape of discharge conduit other than the parabolic curve described above is used, such as, for example, a straight inclined lower portion with an upper portion which follows a circular arc, the bottom wall of the conduit must be carried up farther than in the parabolic shape of conduit. The reason for this is obvious, since the crop material must be guided on all sides if an attempt is made to make it follow any other path than its natural trajectory, and when the bottom wall is carried up toward the upper end of the conduit, more diificulty is encountered from clogging of the conduit at such times as when the rotor slows down. Thus it is evident that by making the conduit 43 parabolic in form, the bottom wall can be left out entirely, right down to the discharge opening in the housing.

The conduit 43 is supported by a pair of tensien members 48 connected between the bracing member 35 and a bracket 49 fixed to the outer section 45 f the conduit 43. Each of the supporting members 48 includes a section of flexible chain 50 which permits the outer section 45 to be swung about the hinge 46 for folding the section 45 over the top of the housing 29.

The harvested crops are gathered and conveyed to the feeder housing 25 by means of a forwardly extending platform 55 which is pivotally mounted on the feeder housing 25 by means providing for vertical swinging movement relative thereto about a transversely extending axis. The platform 55 comprises a deck 56 carried on a pair of laterally spaced forwardly extending frame members 51, upon which are also supported a pair of forwardly diverging side walls 58. The forward ends of the frame members 57 are rigidly connected together by means of a vertically disposed arched frame member 59 which extends over the forward end of the platform. The rear ends of the frame members 51 are provided with hearing members 60 which are journaled at opposite ends of a transversely disposed shaft .6I which is carried in suitable bearings on the feeder housing 25. The forward end of the platform 55 is provided with a pair of laterally spaced skids or runners 16, between which is disposed ,a cylinder type pick-up device 65 having a plurality of crop engaging teeth or fingers 80 adapted to rotate with the rotary pick-up device 65 and pick severed crops from the ground and deposit them upon the deck 55 between the side walls 58, where the crops are moved rearwardly up the deck 56 of the platform 55 by means of suitable conveyor chains I having teeth H4 engageable with the crops.

Further description of the details of the pickup and conveyor mechanism is not considered telescoping shaft section I69 to a shaft I70 journaled in a support IN. The shaft I10 is connected through a universal joint IT! to a power shaft section I18 from which power is taken to operate various parts of the mechanism. The power shaft section I18 is supported in a pedestal bearing'l'l9 mounted on the draft frame I3 and extends rearwardly therefrom into a gear housing I80. A belt pulley I8I is mounted on the shaft section I18 and is connected by a driving belt I82 to a pulley (not shown) mounted on the forward end of the rotor shaft 36. The rear end of the shaft section I78 is journaled in the gear housing I80 and is connected by suitable gears (not shown) in the housing I80 to a transversely extending power shaft I85. The shaft I extends under the feeder housing 25 and a sprocket I30 is mounted on the end of the shaft I85 which projects beyond the feeder housing. The sprocket I 86 drives through a chain I81, which is trained over a large diameter Sprocket I88 fixed to the shaft I89 of a feeder (not shown) in the form of a heater of any suitable conventional design for engaging th crops which move upwardly on the platform and directing them to the rotary chopper 20. The chain I 8'1 is also trained around a pair of sprockets (not shown) fixed on a pair of shafts I92, I93, respectively, on which are mounted the rollers 26 and 2'1, respectively. Further details of this drive connection may be had by reference to Patent 2,347,907 mentioned above.

In operation as an ensilage harvester, the machine is attached to a tractor and the power connection I66 is connected to the power take-off shaft of the tractor. The tractor then draws the machine through a field of alfalfa or other silage crops, which have already been cut by a mower, and the fingers .80 of the pick-up mechanism 65 raise the crops to the platform 56 and ar conveyed upwardly along the deck 56 by the chains I05 and delivered to the feed rollers 26, 21, which feed the green crops to the flywheel cutter 2|. The crops are then thrown by centrifugal force upwardly and outwardly through the parabolic conduit 43 and are delivered to a truck or wagon which is being drawn alongside the ensilage harvester.

At times, it is desirable to cut the crop, lay it in a Windrow, and allow it to dry or at least to wilt before it is chopped. Although windrowing machines are available which cut a swath and convey it laterally for discharge into a windrow, a machine embodying my invention can be drawn over the field after an ordinary mower, to gather the cut crop into windrows, which can later be picked up and chopped. For this purpose, the power transmitting belt I82 is removed from the pulley I 8| to prevent the flywheel from rotating during operation, and a rear housing panel or cover 30 is removed from the rear of the flywheel housing 29, by removing a number of bolts 30, leaving a discharge opening 29 in the rear wall of the housing directly behind the feed rolls 26, 2'! and cutter bar 24. The flywheel cutter 2| is then set with the arms 22 in the position shown in the drawings, in which position the cutter can be suitably blocked, if necessary. The machine is then run over the field, picking up the crop and raising it a to the feed rolls, which discharge the crop through the rear opening 29'. Although the feed rolls 26, 27 discharge the crop with suflicient force to clear the lower edge of the opening 29', preferably a sheet metal apron 200 is secured to the lower edge of the opening 29' by means of a few of the bolts 30 which are replaced to hold the apron 200 in position. The apron extends from the edge of the opening 29 forwardly to the cutter bar 24 and is inserted beneath the latter to hold the apron 200 in proper position. The rearward and downward slope of the apron 200 not only prevents any material from dropping into the housing 29, but discharges any such material over the rear edge of the opening 29'. Since the opening 29' is appreciably narrower than the width of the front of the platform, the crop will be discharged in a windrow, which can be picked up and chopped in another operation, after the crop is suitably cured. The same machine can be used for the subsequent operation, after the apron 200 has been removed and the belt l82 and panel 30 replaced in normal position. Thus, by incorporating the windrowing feature in this machine, I have eliminated the necessity for a farmer who has an ordinary mower to purchase 3 either a windrower or a side delivery rake.

I claim:

In a crop handling machine, a rotary crop propelling member, a housing therefor having a tangentially disposed discharge portion through which said crops are propelled at appreciable velocity in an upwardly and outwardly inclined direction, and a discharge conduit connected with said discharge portion and being curved in a parabolic curve following substantially the natural trajectory of the crops as discharged from the housing, said conduit having an open bottom from said housing over its entire length, to prevent clogging when the speed of rotation of said rotary member decreases.

GEORGE B. HILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,059,658 Connor Apr. 22, 1913 1,382,359 Holbert June 21, 1921 1,707,206 Bernert Mar. 26, 1929 1,886,905 Rosenthal Nov. 8, 1932 2,181,795 Thompson et a1. Nov. 28, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 413,432 Germany May 14, 1925 

